Steph Saxton's flexbility aids Peddie's run to Prep A final

HIGHTSTOWN — Steph Saxton began her field hockey career at Peddie four years ago on the forward line.

But as each season passed Saxton, continued to slide farther away from there, and now as a senior she is the anchor to the Falcons’ defense.

Saxton did her part Wednesday and the Peddie offense took care of the rest as the Falcons took a 3-1 win against Hun in the Prep A semifinals.

Top-seeded Peddie (10-4-2) now meets No. 2 Lawrenceville, which defeated No. 3 Blair, next Wednesday at Peddie. The Falcons won the regular season matchup, 1-0,against the Big Red.

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The Falcons put up two goals in the first 10 minutes. After the fourth-seeded Raiders (6-9) cut the margin to one, Peddie got a much-needed insurance goal in the second half.

Lisi Mueller, who leads the Falcons with 14 goals, scored twice and Morgan Crowe accounted for the other on a stroke. Olivia Bundschuh assisted on the first Peddie goal.

Thirteen saves by Hun’s Reina Kern and three defensive saves by Hanna Bettner, Liz Mydlowski and Bri Barrett made it difficult for the Falcons. The lone Hun goal came with 50 seconds left in the half off the stick of Courtney Faulkner.

“We played a nice defensive game,” Hun head coach Kathy Quirk said. “The communication was better. We had a lot of opportunities and we just couldn’t capitalize on it.”

Continuing to put pressure on the cage, Peddie did capitalize.

“We had a lot of perseverance and the girls kept playing hard to keep the momentum,” Peddie head coach Alli Treese said. “We really put a lot of shots and they were tough, and our girls did a good job getting the ball in the cage.”

Mueller did most of the damage with a goal 2:36 into the game, and then she delivered the insurance tally with 12:32 left. The second score went into the top corner of the cage.

“This has been a awesome experience,” said Mueller, in her first year with a Falcons. “The girls have been great and I feel so welcomed. I feel like I’ve been a part of the team for four years. I’ve never had a chance to play on a championship team and it would be amazing.”

As Saxton found out each year, defense is the key to winning championships. The senior is ready to do her part.

“As I’ve made the change over the four years,” she said, “I feel a protective instinct over this team and I want to be back there.”

Besides hovering around things from the back line, Saxton has very savvy stickhandling ability that allows her to be an asset to the transition game.

“She comes up for us big back there,” Treese said. “She can carry the ball and she can set things up.”

Things are set up for Peddie to challenge for another state title, and it would be a great culmination of Saxton’s march through the field.